BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. $PXED

Key Points

• BlackRock initiated a position in Phoenix Education Partners by purchasing 384,179 shares valued at approximately $12.62 million, representing a 1.07% stake. Several other institutional investors also established or increased positions.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Morgan Stanley and Barrington Research maintained positive ratings with price targets of $40 and $45, while other firms downgraded the stock. The overall consensus rating is “Hold”, with an average target price of $41.60.
• Phoenix Education Partners reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, beating estimates of $1.28, on revenue of $271.8 million. Shares opened at $28.78, while the company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, yielding about 2.9% annually.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PXED - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 384,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,620,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 1.07% of Phoenix Education Partners as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the second quarter valued at about $433,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners during the second quarter worth approximately $363,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $78,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners during the 1st quarter worth about $858,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Phoenix Education Partners by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 16,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 3,097 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Phoenix Education Partners from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research lowered Phoenix Education Partners from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Phoenix Education Partners in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Phoenix Education Partners in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Phoenix Education Partners presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.60.

Phoenix Education Partners Trading Down 4.0%

NYSE PXED opened at $28.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion and a P/E ratio of 13.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.10 and a 200-day moving average of $29.79. Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.52 and a 12 month high of $47.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. Phoenix Education Partners had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 60.06%. The firm had revenue of $271.80 million during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Phoenix Education Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 29th. Phoenix Education Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.07%.

Phoenix Education Partners Company Profile

Our Mission To provide access to higher education opportunities that enable students to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve their professional goals, improve the performance of their organizations and provide leadership and service to their communities. We are a mission-driven organization operating at the forefront of the rapidly evolving post-secondary education market. As one of the largest online education providers and a pioneer in our field, we benefit from the dynamic interplay between technological innovation, education, employment and economic trends.

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